Press kit - Eye to Eye

Production
details
Stella adores her beautiful sister Katja. When Stella realizes that Katja is hiding a terrible
eating disorder she is dragged into a vicious circle of secrets and manipulation.
Original title:
Min lilla syster
Genre: Drama
Duration: 95 min
Year: 2015
World premiere: Dragon
Awards, Gothenburg
International Film Festival
International Premiere:
Berlinale, Generation K-Plus
Director & Script Writer:
Sanna Lenken
Producer: Annika Rogell
Co-Producer: Ilona Schultz
Produced by Tangy
in co-production with
Fortune Cookie Film, Film i Väst,
Sveriges Television, & ZDF Das kleine fernshespiel in
cooperation with Arte
In cooperation with Story
With support from Swedish Film
Institute, Filmfond Hamburg
Schleswig-Holstein, Nordic Film
& TV Fund, the MEDIA program
of the European Union &
Sandrews Stipend
A Swedish German
co-production
Distribution Sweden &
Denmark: Scanbox
Entertainment
Distribution Germany: Camoni
Films
International Sales: Wide
Loic Magneron - President
+33 6 60 43 96 86 [email protected]
Georgia Poivre - International
Sales
+33 7 61 57 96 86
[email protected]
Press Contact:
Matt Johnstone
Matt Johnstone Publicity
Los Angeles / New York
1365 McDuff Street
Los Angeles, CA 90026, USA
Ph: +1 323 938 7880
Email: mattjohnstone-pr@
sbcglobal.net
• Short synopsis
Just as Stella enters the exciting world of
adolescence she discovers that her big sister
and role model Katja is hiding an eating
disorder. The disease slowly tears the family
apart. A story about jealousy, love and
betrayal told with warmth, depth and
laughter.
• Synopsis
Stella is a girl just about to enter the exciting
and scary world of adolescence. She lives in
the shadow of her older sister Katja, a
talented and beautiful figure-skater who her
parents seem to adore. Stella is trying hard
to imitate her sisters behavior to get more
attention.
While watching her sister close, Stella
realizes something is wrong. Katja is hiding
an eating disorder which has taken over her
life. Stella is forced by Katja to keep it a
secret, and is dragged into a vicious circle of
manipulation and lies. Slowly the parents
understands something is wrong and Stella
is terrified that this will tear the family
apart. A film about dreams, love and how
brutal it can be to grow up as a girl.
• Directors comment
This film is a story about trying to remain
sane in this world. As a teenager I had
anorexia. I’m still upset that I tried to
change myself into something I was not, that
I couldn’t be pleased with myself. I find it
extremely sad but in the same time absurd.
The question of why it happened has
followed me my whole life. In “My skinny
sister” I want to examine what it means to
grow up as a young girl: how hard it is to live
up to the ideals and expectations of today’s
society and how horrible it is to be judged for
the way you look and not for who you are.
Eating disorders are nearly as common as
alcoholism in families and in one way it’s the
same journey for a family with manipulation,
shame, betrayal, fear and love. And just like
an alcoholic, a person with an eating
disorder is trying to escape the angst of not
being able to control life and being the one
you think you need to be. There have been
endless films about alcoholism, but nearly
none about eating disorders. I want to tell
this story in a truthful way with many harsh
situations but also, through Stella’s
perspective, show how absurd the addiction
is; to be able to laugh in the middle of the
angst. And hopefully give some comfort,
understanding and strength to the audience.
To be able to tell this powerful story, I knew
we needed exceptional actors to make this
story as believable and authentic as possible.
We looked for over a year to find Rebecka
Josephson and Amy Deasismont. Casting
Director, Catrin Wideryd, and we were
working like crazy to find them. I knew both
of my charachters had to be great in all
aspects and be able both to be warm and
happy, but also be able to perform really
heavy angst and sadness. I had worked with
kids and young actors before and I knew
when we started how hard it is to find all this
qualities. Then they also had to look a bit like
sisters, and have a good chemistry. Only one
month before shooting we found Rebecka,
without her this film wouldn’t be what it is.
She made incredible castings. I then worked
a lot with the sisters and the family to make
them tight as a family. Lot of rehearsals and
also long improvisations in character. We
also did rehearsals in the house we were
shooting. I wanted them all to feel safe
together since they had to go through a lot of
harsh stuff during the film. They became a
very loving family off set as well. Always
sharing laughs and tears together as a
family.
Producers
comment &
bio’s
Director & Script Writer
Sanna Lenken
• Producer’s comment
Eating disorders is a great universal
contemporary culture problem.
Approximately 10% of all women have had
some sort of eating disorder in Sweden. The
percentage is about the same in different
territories around Europe and US. With the
related people means that a greater part of
the population in these territories has had
some kind of connection to the problem.
And it’s growing as media hits young
adolescents everywhere with the ideal
portrayal of how to be. Everyone’s aware of
the problem, yet it’s very rare subject in the
film market.
I’m proud to present two rising stars; the
two sisters who make their remarkable
debute in a feature.
Finally I’m glad this is Sannas debut feature
– it’s a subject that she keeps close to her
heart, and one that allows her own tome to
shine – a tone in which drama and comedy
are parallel to each other and which points
absurd situations in our reality.
• Director & script writer, Sanna Lenken
Graduated film directing with a master in
screen writing at the Dramatiska institutet, the
National film school of Sweden 2009. She’s made
several of prize winning short films and has
directed Double life a youth series in two
seasons for Swedish Television.
Her latest short film Eating Lunch has been
shown at over 35 film festivals including
Berlinalde and Tribeca. It premiered in
competition at Gothenburg International Film
Festival in January 2013.
Filmography in selection:
Eating Lunch / Äta Lunch, 2013, 12 min,
Competition Göteborgs Internationella
Filmfestival, Berlinale 14+ Generation in
competition, Tribeca Film Festival etc.
Nominated for best Swedish short 2014 and
awarded at Uppsala Film Festival, Ozu film
festival, Valladolid Film Festival.
Double Life / Dubbelliv, 2010 and 2012, (12
episodes á 12 minutes, 2 seasons) TV serie,
Nomineted for best TV drama at Nordic Children
Media Festival
Yoghurt, 2010, 30 min, Hounors award at
Gothenburgs International Film Festival
Travemunde-Trelleborg, 2008, 30 min, Best
film at International Student Short Film Festival,
Cergy-Pontoise / Brussels international short
film festival (in competition) / Nominated to 1 km
Film, Stockholm Film Festival
• Producer, Annika Rogell
Educated at the Dramatic Institute, Stockholm
same year as Sanna Lenken.
A part of Story, and founder of Tangy. All her
features has made it to Berlinale. Her two first
features, The Black Power Mixtape (2011) and
Concerning Violence (2014) by Göran Hugo
Olsson had both premiere at Sundance in world
documentary competition following by Berlinale
Panorama. She’s produced several of prize
winning shorts, many together with director
Sanna Lenken. Rogell is an EAVE graduate 2011.
Films in selection:
Concerning Violence, 2014, feature
documentary by Göran Hugo Olsson,
Prizes: Best doc Swedish Film Awards 2015,
Cinema Fairbindet at Berlinale 2014. Sold to over
30 territories.
Eating Lunch, 13 min, 2013, (see Sanna Lenken)
The Black Power Mixtape, feature
documentary 93 min, 2011, Directed by Göran
Hugo Olsson, Sold to over 35 territories,
including 42 cities theatrical release in the USA.
Prizes: Sundance Film Festival Editing Award, 2
awards at Guldbaggen 2012 (Swedish Film Prize)
for best music and best among others.
Yoghurt, 2010, 30 min, (see Sanna Lenken)
Travemunde-Trelleborg, 2008, 30 min, (see
Sanna Lenken)
• Production Company, Tangy
Tangy is a company founded by Producer
Annika Rogell in collaboration with Story.
Story was founded in 1998 is today one of the
leading production companies focused on
creative documentaries in Sweden and the
Nordic Countries. Story’s project all deal with
burning questions in our contemporary society.
Story production travel around the world with
prizewinning films like Concerning Violence
(2014, Sundance, Berlinale etc), Belleville Baby
(2013 Premiering at Berlinale, Best Swedish
doc), At night I fly (2012 Best Swedish doc), the
Black Power Mixtape (2011, Sundance editing
award, Berlinale, Best music and best editing at
Swedish awards). In 2011 Story received the
Stockholm award, for scanning the world
producing stunning films.
• Co-producer, Ilona Schultz / Fortune Cookie
Film
Graduate of film studies course at the University
of Hamburg. Co-founder of Fortune Cookies.
Examples of films; What if Death Do Us Part,
Would You Rather Be Dead (German TV-prize
2011), Die Kirche blebt im Dorf (German
cinema succé). EAVE graduate 2011.
Team & cast
Director & Script Writer: Sanna
Lenken
Producer: Annika Rogell
Featuring: Rebecka Josephson,
Amy Deasismont, Annika Hallin,
Henrik Norlén, Maxim Mehmet,
Iga Lindbom
Casting: Catrin Wideryd
DOP: Moritz Schultheiß
Eletrician: Tobias Henriksson
Set Design: Ellen Oseng
Costume & Make Up: Mimmi
Harms Oredsson
Sound: Gustaf Berger
Editor: Hanna Lejonqvist, SFK
Music: Per Störby Jutbring
Post Production Manager:
Christian Vennefrohne
Sound Design: Kai Storck
Dialogue: Lars Wignell, Gustaf
Berger
Sound Mix: Sascha Heiny
Grading: Ronney Afortu, BVK
Graphics: Jacob Frössén
Executive Producers: Mimmi
Spång, Rebecka Lafrenz, Tobias
Janson
Co-Producers: Ilona Schultz ,
Jessica Ask, Hanne Palmquist,
Katharina Dufner, Olaf Grunert
Produced by Tangy
in co-production with
Fortune Cookie Film, Film i Väst,
Sveriges Television, & ZDF Das kleine fernshespiel in
cooperation with Arte
In cooperation with Story
With support from Swedish Film
Institute, Filmfond Hamburg
Schleswig-Holstein, Nordic Film
& TV Fund, the MEDIA program
of the European Union &
Sandrews Stipend
• DOP, Moritz Schultheiß
Moritz Schultheiß is one of German’s most
prominent DOPs. Prior work includes
prizewinning Tore Tanzt (official selection
Cannes 2013), Rammbock (2010), and Romeos
(2011).
Rebecka Josephson
• Editor, Hanna Lejonqvist
Lejonqvist has received two years in row editing
award at the Swedish Film Awards, 2011 for The
Black Power Mixtape and 2012 for Palme. In
2011 she also won the editing Award at the
Sundance Film Festival together with Göran
Olsson The Back Power Mixtape.
Amy Deasismont
• Music, Per Störby Jutbring
Musician that also go by name Pearl, and part of
New Tide Orquesta. Swedish artist Laleh is
featuring in competition song in the film.
• Rebecka Josephson as Stella
A star to come! 11 years old she makes her first
feature. Grand daughter to Erland Josephson,
often featured in Ingmar Bergmans’ films.
Annika Hallin
• Amy Deasismont as Katja
Amy Deasismont a.k.a Amy Diamond; singer,
actress, TV-host and artist. She had a big hit in
Scandinavia at 11 years old “What’s in it for me”.
This is her first big role in a feature film.
Henrik Norlén
• Annika Hallin as Karin
Swedish actress, among others featuring in I
taket lyser stjärnorna by Lisa Siwe, Flickan
by Fredrik Edfeldt and Män som hatar kvinnor
by Niels Arden Oplev.
• Henrik Norlén as Lasse
Swedish actor, among other featuring in Hotell
by Lisa Langseth, and Återträffen by Anna
Odell.
• Maxim Mehmet as Jacob
German actor, among other featuring in Unser
Mütter, unsere Väter by Philipp Kadelbach,
and Männerherzen by Simon Verhoeven.
Maxim Mehmet